That Which costs me nothing

“He is not a spare-time God, and you don’t have a spare-time calling.”- Jordan Smith

The other day God asked me a question that I think we all need to be asking ourselves. He said, “Is the only time you’re using faith, when you have no other option?”

Hebrews 11:6 says that without faith it’s impossible to please God, so that tells me that with faith, He is pleased. Not only does it please Him but it stores up eternal reward. When God rewards, it’s not easily corrupted. It’s not rewarding just in what we can see, and feel but rather there are things and aspects of God given reward that we will only walk in the fullness of in Heaven.

I want eternal reward. I want it bad. And not because I’m trying to build some heavenly savings account. But because Revelation 4 talks about casting our crowns at the feet of Jesus and proclaiming that He is worthy. How do you think we get those crowns? Those crowns that we give back to Jesus are eternal rewards from things done here on Earth. I desperately don’t want to arrive in Heaven, see Jesus face to face and behold His glory and have nothing to give Him. Trust me, you’re going to want to have stored up treasure in Heaven too.

So if faith pleases Him, then faith I will give. Faith I will exercise. Faith I will seek.

But now to the original question, do we only please God when our back is against the wall? Are we only earning eternal rewards when the enemy is attacking? Are we only using faith when we have no other option?

You can choose to be pleasing to God when things are good. We can choose to exercise faith when it’s not our final and only option. We can lean on God’s power rather than our own strength every day. This is pleasing to the Lord. 

Let’s look in the Bible at a story of King David that gives a pleasing offering to the Lord.

So David is King and he wants to count the people so he knows just how much man power he’s running with. This is upsetting to God because He made a covenant with Abraham to multiply the people of Israel. So what on the outside seems innocent is really David finding every way around exercising faith that he can. You don’t need faith in the battle if you know you have the strength on your own.

So the this immediately grieves David’s heart and he repents, but there is still consequences for his sin. A plague begins wiping out this number of people he has counted and he’s instructed to go to where he last saw the angel of the Lord and sacrifice to the Lord there. This is on another man’s land. His name is Araunah (good luck pronouncing that one.)

2 Sam.24:21-25(AMP), “Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” And David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, to build an altar to the Lord, so that the plague may be held back from the people.” 22 Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up whatever seems good to him. Look, here are oxen for the burnt offering, and threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood. 23 All of this, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May the Lord your God be favorable to you.” 24 But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will certainly buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God which cost me nothing.” So David purchased the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 25 David built an altar to the Lord there, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord was moved [to compassion] by [David’s] prayer for the land, and the plague was held back from Israel.”

David says, “I will not give that which costs me nothing.”

God is not desiring your striving. He’s desiring your surrender. He’s not desiring your stress. He’s desiring your rest. He’s not wanting your suffering. He is longing for your reliance on His face.

Are you stressed? This is an opportunity for faith. In fact, I dare say, when we are stressed we are late to choosing faith. When we are worried, we have missed the initial opportunity of trusting in God first. Thankfully, it’s never too late. He’s not pulling back His provision when we don’t take it on time. 

We think offering up our problems to God, He might not fix it how or when we want it. So we do everything we can do fix it ourselves first. And when are totally out of options, with no other answer, we kick in our faith. This is a faith that costs you nothing. There’s no surrender in that. There’s no trust in the character of God. That He loves you and wants only what’s best for you. This is not a costless Gospel, and we can’t wield it using cheap faith.

I’m not just talking about money, yes, money is a big one because the Bible says where your heart is, your treasure will be also. So money, yes, for sure. But what about time?

We feel like if we give God a chunk of our day, stuff won’t get done and we will fall behind on responsibilities. Or sometimes, we’re just tired and don’t want to give Him time, because we want to do something entertaining. (I’m guilty here too)

But something God told me a while back completely changed my daily walk with Him, He told me, “I’m not a spare time God, and you don’t have a spare time calling.”

Because I think especially in the American church, we give God the leftover time. The time that costs us nothing. We don’t want to wake up early, that’s costly. We don’t want to stay up late, that’s costly. We don’t want to not watch our tv show, or not go to the event.

Spare time costs you nothing. Make time.

We make time for work. We make time for fun. We make time to make money. People will always do what they want to do. Desire to please God. Even if it costs you.

If you have kids, then you know they cost a lot.. I make time to take care of my kids. This is nonnegotiable. If I’m tired. I still have a responsibility to tend to my children. If they need something expensive, I put their financial needs above mine. It needs to be this way with God. Acts says that “In him we move and breath and have our being.” We exist in God. Remaining in Him should be nonnegoitable. When I’m tired, when I’m in need, when I don’t have enough. He should still be first and foremost priority.

This isn’t a costless Gospel. Read it. Nothing in there is free. The things we enjoy freely were purchased at a very high price. It costs God everything to get to you. He paid it.

It cost Jesus everything to save. He thought you worth it.

It cost Mary her son, to walk in the will of God for her life. She said, “so be it unto me as you have said.”

It cost most of the disciples their lives to spread the Gospel.

Pleasing God is going to cost you something, but I promise you it’s worth it. It’s ok if your faith costs you something.

When we sacrifice, I mean truly sacrifice something in order to give it to God, we receive a higher valued reward, a deeper anointing, more effective fruit. You will never out give God.

So that thing He has been asking of you, but you are too scared to exercise your faith in that area, whatever it is, taking that trip, writing that book, witnessing to the friend, quitting that job, simply getting rid of tv show, or hobby that takes too much of your attention off of eternity and God Himself, whatever- it’s ok if the price is high.

I won’t give Him that which costs me nothing.

But know that when you give Him what costs you greatly, the faith that is given in that act of surrender and sacrifice is a sweet smelling aroma to God. That it doesn’t go unnoticed, unseen, or unrequited.

He’s the God of more than enough. He supplies all my needs. He provides for the birds, I can give Him my finances and He will take care of me. He gave me my life and numbers my days, I can give Him my time. Nothing is more important than time spent remaining in Him. He is the vindicator and justice belongs to Him, I can give that forgiveness I’ve been hanging on to. He’s my peace, I can give him my stress and exercise my faith from the beginning. He’s my Source, my Strength and my Shield. He can be trusted.

And He is worthy of it all.

I won’t give Him that which costs me nothing, but when I see His face, I’ll wish I’d given more away.

You’ll never give more than He’s worth. That’s why you can’t outgive Him. It’ll never be enough. But God, I surrender all.

Remember, Eternity is long- live like it!